Discover Happiness

Khammouane, meaning “happy gold”, is believed to have been named after the gold deposits found in the area hundreds of years ago. Today its treasures are to be found by all those who set out with a spirit of adventure and seek it.

Discover History

The province’s history dates back as early as the 6th-8th centuries when the region was part of the Sikhottabong Kingdom. Remnants of the ancient civilization include the Great Wall (Kampeng Nyak), Meuang Phone Stupa, and Sikhottabong Stupa – one of the most sacred in Laos.

Discover Nature

Khammouane is a land of rugged karst mountains, a dreamlike landscape that has served as a sanctuary for a number of wild animals that were unknown to scientists until the 1990s.

‘The Loop’ is the journey of a lifetime

The Loop is a journey through time.

Discover how the mountains, rivers and caves around you were made over millions of years. Find out how people have sheltered here from war and upheaval over hundreds of years. Uncover the legends of a landscape that is a refuge for special animals, plants and birds. Get to know the people who live here today through their own stories, foods and festivals.

The Loop is a 450km journey with over 30 sites to visit in Khammouane and Bolikhamxay provinces. You can take several days to travel around it all. Or explore a part of it now, and come back another time to discover more.

The Loop veers north onto Route 8B away from Route 12 just past the Mahaxay junction, and starts a lazy, twisting climb between rice paddies up the Nakai Plateau, as massive limestone outcrops begin dominating the backdrop.

A powerful rush of water, channeled through a cobblestone-banked river, soon appears – this is the monitored flow from the Nam Theun 2 dam, which houses an expansive visitor center displaying information on the dam, its environmental impact, village relocation program, and animal rescue project.

The Loop continues along the dam’s reservoir to the top of the plateau (600 m) at Nakai Town, which offers several guesthouses and restaurants. This district center also hosts a sizeable morning market and serves a as a gateway to the surrounding ethnic villages, such as Ban Songkham and its Tai Sam weavers.

After a further 20 km at Tha Lang, a bridge crosses the reservoir, where a pleasant restaurant serving Western food and offering bungalows and activities such as trekking, fishing, and boating greets travelers.

The Loop’s next 57 km are freshly paved, and will easily take you to Lak Sao on Route 8, the road to Ban Nahin and the turnoff to the province’s famed Konglor Cave, and its slate of eco-activities including the boat ride through the 7.5-km natural tunnel, and a range of overnight options: eco-lodges, village lodge, and homestays.

Back on Route 8 West, The Loop continues to Vieng Kham the Route 13 turnoff, and the 105-km run back to Thakaek.

Discover Khammouane

Khammouane Province has long been a place of travel and of sanctuary.

This is a land of rugged karst mountains which were once the refuge of a succession of ethnic groups fleeing the Haw invasions in the north during the 19th century. The famed Mu Gia pass at the end of route 12 was one of the main transit points of the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail during the Indochina Wars.

This dreamlike landscape has served as a sanctuary for a number of wild animals that were unknown to scientists until the 1990s. The khan you, a small rodent-like creature the size of a small squirrel, was found in Khammouane in the early 21st century and possibly will be the last remaining mammalian family to be described on earth.